Maintenance

Sec. 504.  Maintenance.

    (a)  In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or legal separation

or  declaration  of  invalidity  of  marriage,  or  a   proceeding   for

maintenance  following  dissolution  of  the  marriage  by a court which

lacked personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse, the court may grant

a temporary or permanent maintenance award for either spouse in  amounts

and  for  periods  of  time  as  the court deems just, without regard to

marital misconduct, in gross or for fixed or indefinite periods of time,

and the maintenance may be paid from the income or property of the other

spouse after consideration of all relevant factors, including:

         (1)  the income and property of each party,  including  marital

    property  apportioned and non-marital property assigned to the party

    seeking maintenance;

         (2)  the needs of each party;

         (3)  the present and future earning capacity of each party;

         (4)  any impairment of the present and future earning  capacity

    of  the party seeking maintenance due to that party devoting time to

    domestic duties or having forgone or  delayed  education,  training,

    employment, or career opportunities due to the marriage;

         (5)  the time necessary to enable the party seeking maintenance

    to  acquire  appropriate  education,  training,  and employment, and

    whether that party is able to support  himself  or  herself  through

    appropriate  employment  or  is  the  custodian of a child making it

    appropriate that the custodian not seek employment;

         (6)  the standard of living established during the marriage;

         (7)  the duration of the marriage;

         (8)  the age and the physical and emotional condition  of  both

    parties;

         (9)  the  tax  consequences  of  the property division upon the

    respective economic circumstances of the parties;

         (10)  contributions  and  services   by   the   party   seeking

    maintenance  to the education, training, career or career potential,

    or license of the other spouse;

         (11)  any valid agreement of the parties; and

         (12)  any other factor that the court  expressly  finds  to  be

    just and equitable.

    (b)  (Blank).

    (c)  The  court  may  grant  and  enforce the payment of maintenance

during the pendency of an appeal as the court shall deem reasonable  and

proper.

    (d)  No  maintenance shall accrue during the period in which a party

is imprisoned for failure to comply  with  the  court's  order  for  the

payment of such maintenance.

    (e)  When  maintenance  is to be paid through the clerk of the court

in a county of 1,000,000 inhabitants or less, the order shall direct the

obligor to pay to the clerk, in addition to  the  maintenance  payments,

all  fees  imposed by the county board under paragraph (3) of subsection

(u) of Section 27.1 of the Clerks of Courts Act.  Unless paid in cash or

pursuant to an order for withholding, the payment of the fee shall be by

a separate instrument from the support payment and shall be made to  the

order of the Clerk.

(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)